| Penfield Reef Light |
Fairfield, CT
35 feet high; 51 feet above water.
Attention lighthouse lovers: Word has just gone out that this lighthouse will soon be transferred to the most suitable new owner under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The Fairfield Historical Society has expressed interest in working to preserve the structure.
Jeremy’s Lighthouse Guide #41
Penfield Reef is a mile-long rock formation about a mile offshore of Fairfield
and neighboring Bridgeport. The area was a peninsula a few centuries ago, gradually
worn down to a series of islands and eventually to a shoal. The reef was considered
one of the greatest dangers to navigation in Long Island Sound.
Penfield Reef Lighthouse was constructed on a cylindrical granite pier in 1874 at a cost of $55,000. The octagonal lighthouse tower is attached to the front end of a two-story stone dwelling.
On December 22, 1916, the seas were heavy when Keeper Frederick A. Jordan left in a dory intending to join his family for Christmas. Rudolph Iten, then the assistant keeper, recorded what happened next in the station's log:
"Keeper left station at 12:20 PM and when about 150 yards NW of the light, his
boat capsized. . . . Sent distress signals to several ships but none answered.
Lost tract [sic] of the keeper at 3:00 PM. He is probably lost."
Iten had tried vainly to launch the station’s second boat in an effort to save
Jordan, but it was no use in the high wind. The body of the keeper was soon recovered.
Iten was absolved of any blame for the keeper's death and became the next head
keeper. Some days later Keeper Iten said he observed a ghostly figure gliding down the
lighthouse stairs, disappearing from view. The keeper then found the station's
log, which had been mysteriously moved to a table and left open to the entry for
December 22, 1916, the night of Keeper Fred Jordan's death. To this day mariners off the Connecticut coast claim that, in stormy weather,
the spectre of a lighthouse keeper is seen on the lantern room gallery or floating
above the reef itself. The legend of the ghost of Penfield Reef rivals that of
Long Island Sound's other famous ghost, "Ernie" at New London Ledge Light. After nearly a century of resident keepers Penfield Reef Light was automated
in 1971. The Coast Guard had planned to replace the structure with a pipe tower
but local residents objected, and the venerable lighthouse was saved. The light
remains an active aid to navigation and an automated fog signal is still in use.
For much more HISTORY on this lighthouse go to lighthouse.cc. . For even more, look the book Lighthouses of Connecticut by Jeremy D’Entremont, published June 2005 by Commonwealth Editions of Beverly,
Massachusetts.
Copyright 2005 by Jeremy D'Entremont,New England Lighthouses
Photos are the property of the author and may not be used without permission.
Photos above from Jeremy D'Entremont.